Statement by Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., on the Canonizations of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II

The following statement is from Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame:

“On Sunday (April 27), we at the University of Notre Dame will join with millions the world over in celebrating the lives of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II. Their canonizations could not come at a more propitious time. The rich teachings of the Vatican Council, convened by the former, stirred the evangelization of the latter. In Pacem in Terris, Pope John XXIII said plainly that “nuclear weapons must be banned,” and Pope John Paul II inspired the collapse of tyranny without a shot being fired. Nuclear weapons still threaten annihilation, and tyrannical regimes still threaten neighbors. In their mutual witness to the Risen Lord in a fallen world, Popes John XXIII and John Paul II have become true prophets of our time, and we gratefully invoke them as such.”